Assembly BillIntroduced
A 6970: Establishes the offense of aggravated reckless driving which involves harm to an identifiable person or property; makes such offense bail-eligible.
What A 6970 does, verified January 10, 2026
The bill aims to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law to define and penalize reckless driving. Reckless driving is defined as driving or using a vehicle in a manner that unreasonably interferes with the use of public highways or parking lots, or endangers users of these areas. Aggravated reckless driving is a more serious offense involving harm to identifiable individuals or property, and it is classified as a class A misdemeanor. The bill also clarifies the definition of a parking lot, stating that it includes areas provided for parking four or more motor vehicles near or contiguous to a public highway. However, the provisions of the bill do not apply to areas of private property comprising a one or two-family residence. The bill will take effect immediately.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: referred to transportation (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about A 6970
- What is the current status of A 6970?
- As of January 10, 2026, A 6970 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "referred to transportation".
- Did A 6970 pass?
- Not yet. A 6970 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote A 6970, and where is it now?
- A 6970 was authored by Asm. Charles Lavine. Its committee of record is Assembly Transportation.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | referred to transportation |
| Mar. 18, 2025 | referred to transportation |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, March 18, 2025 · 344 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6970 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 18, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to aggravated reckless driving The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1212 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by 2 chapter 436 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 1212. Reckless driving. (a) (i) Reckless driving shall mean driving 4 or using any motor vehicle, motorcycle or any other vehicle propelled by 5 any power other than muscular power or any appliance or accessory there- 6 of in a manner which unreasonably interferes with the free and proper 7 use of the public highway or any parking lot, or unreasonably endangers 8 users of the public highway or any parking lot. Reckless driving is 9 prohibited. Every person violating this provision shall be guilty of a 10 misdemeanor. 11 (ii) Aggravated reckless driving shall mean reckless driving involving 12 harm to an identifiable person or property, and shall constitute a class 13 A misdemeanor. 14 (b) As used in this section, "parking lot" shall mean any area or 15 areas of private property, including a driveway, near or contiguous to 16 and provided in connection with premises and used as a means of access 17 to and egress from a public highway to such premises and having a capac- 18 ity for the parking of four or more motor vehicles. The provisions of 19 this section shall not apply to any area or areas of private property 20 comprising all or part of property on which is situated a one or two 21 family residence. 22 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08943-01-5
Text of A 6970 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions